How new advertising models can release value in publishing

Advertising is a $1 trillion industry globally that has been packaging, presenting, promoting, communicating and manifesting the value of things for a very long time. Showing things to people so they know more about those things, in ways that both seduce and persuade them of their value, ensures goods and services don't languish, undiscovered, in the dark. Advertising has proven itself to be useful and effective in monetising assets - but the historic model does not work for book publishing, except for an occasional frontlist release.

Advertising has also, historically, cost a fortune: in time, in expertise, in capital. In business model terms, its value chain is highly modular. To make good advertising you need to understand the inherent, implicit value of the item, consider its context (history, competitors, unique dimensions), identify its strategic point of difference, alight upon the elements most likely to appeal to its audience, be sure of what will drive engagement and purchase, create assets that manifest the best of the brand in lots of formats for different media environments, and then deploy the advertising executions into various channels, adroitly matching them with people to whom the product or service will appeal.